They HAD a Good Thing Going: My Review of Brady Corbet's THE BRUTALIST

**Some spoilers throughout, and plot developments will be discussed. Consider this is a fair warning**

When I sit down to write a review for a film, I usually have a very strong idea of what I want to convey. I have had instances where I was left a bit bewildered by how I felt about a film when I would be preparing my review; recent examples of this feeling would be The Zone of Interest and The Substance. 

The Brutalist is something else entirely.

Before diving into this review, I want to talk about the setting in which I got to see the film. In order for the film to meet the requirements for Oscar consideration by the end of the 2024 calendar year, A24 released The Brutalist in 4 theaters: 2 in NY, 2 in LA.

I got a ticket for a matinee at Village East by Angelika. At the screening, we were also given a commemorative poster along with a pamphlet based on the center/monument that Adrien Brody's character Laszlo Toth designs in the film. 

As you can see from the poster, this screening was being projected from 70mm film, a process that was known as VistaVision. 

VistaVision has been relatively obsolete for the past 60 years. It had been popular during the 1950s when had been used by directors like Cecil B. DeMille for The Ten Commandments and Alfred Hitchcock for some of his most seminal works: North by Northwest and notably Vertigo, which is actually the only film until The Brutalist that I managed to see a 70mm screening of.

There is something that feels inherently grand and nostalgic about The Brutalist. Perhaps it is strange to say "nostalgic" because it would be nostalgia for a time of cinema that I was not even alive for. A great deal has been said about how The Brutalist is a 3.5 hour epic with a 15 minute intermission built in. The concept of film intermissions went out of vogue during the 1970s and never returned. Frankly, several films of recent years really could've benefitted from an intermission like Oppenheimer (though I got through that one pretty easily) and Killers of the Flower Moon (which desperately needed one), come to mind. 

I certainly had reservations going into it. A 3+ hour film is a hard ask for anyone, but when done well, these longer films shouldn't feel like a slog to sit through.

The fact of the matter is that The Brutalist was actually fairly easy to sit through. I would even go as far as to say that when the film hit intermission, the first half had flown by and I was eager to proceed with the film rather than feeling uneasy about the next 1.5 hours ahead of me.

However - before I proceed...allow me to utilize a rather potentially crude analogy...

Let's say you are laying in bed. You have a man approaching you who is handsome and confident...and he has a rather prominent tentpole effect happening in his shorts. 

You feel excited and eager and you are so ready for whatever comes next. After about an hour and half of passionate and glorious foreplay, you sort ease into a quiet sense of bliss before returning to finish the deed. 

But then, he feels very emboldened and just wants to try so many different things, new things, strange things. It feels messy and meandering and as if he is tripping over his own erection.

And that, my dear readers, is The Brutalist. 

Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair stated that the film was "half a masterpiece". I have to agree with that wholeheartedly. 

I cannot begin to tell you what a jarring experience this film was for me. It isn't that the second half is necessarily horrible per se, but the first half of the film is dripping with style and passion and confidence and beauty to a point where one is practically in awe. 

For a film that was over 3 hours long, I will say that it did fly by at an impressive rate What does shock me was that despite that lengthy running time...I felt the film was too rushed. You heard me right: I wanted The Brutalist to be even longer than its 215 minute running time. 

The Brutalist begins in 1947 and lasts up until 1960 (with an epilogue occurring at a later date). The first half is titled: 

PART 1: The Enigma of Arrival 

It follows Laszlo Toth (Adrien Brody), a Hungarian-Jewish architect who immigrates to the United States following WWII. During the war, he was separated from his wife Erszebet (Felicity Jones) and his niece Zsofia (Raffey Cassidy) when they were put into different concentration camps. He is uncertain if either of them are still alive. 

When he first arrives, he lives with his cousin who owns a furniture store outside of Philadelphia who offers him work at the store as well. 

He eventually crosses paths with a wealthy industrialist named Harrison Van Buren (Guy Pearce), when he is asked to help renovate his study as a surprise by his son Harry (Joe Alwyn). While this doesn't go well at first, Harrison eventually realizes that Laszlo was a highly respected architect...granted it took until a magazine gushed about the study in an article for him to take notice...but Harrison owns up to that ignorance and wants to find a way to help out Laszlo. 

He offers Laszlo a chance to stay in a guest house on his spacious Doylestown property and offers his lawyer to help with expediting the immigration of Erszebet and Zsofia to the states. Right near the end of Part 1, Harrison announces that he wants to build a huge community center to honor the death of his mother which would include a library, auditorium, gymnasium, and chapel. As if it were divine intervention, Harrison feels Laszlo was brought to him for the purpose of bringing this idea to life. And with that project beginning to form, it is announced that Erszebet and Zsofia are about to be en route to Pennsylvania when we reach...

PART 2: The Hard Core of Beauty

We finally get to meet Erszebet and Zsofia, the former is in a wheelchair after having developed osteoporosis in the concentration camp, the latter is now mute. 

Being thrust into this new world is clearly a massive shift for these two ladies, but it is clear right off the bat that Erszebet is a strong woman with an intense intellect; especially when we realize she is a graduate of Oxford. 

During construction of the center, László learns of changes to the design and materials made without his approval, and butts heads with the other developers. Though László intends to pay out of his pocket for the materials necessary to his intended vision, Harry warns him to stay in his place, saying he is merely "tolerated," and makes unsavory sexual allusions to Zsófia, whom László warns to stay away from Harry, though it seems heavily implied that he already assaulted her. Sometime later, the train carrying László’s materials derails and crashes, critically injuring two brakemen. With the expected legal fees and the increased cost it would take to transport the materials, Harrison abandons the construction and lays off all the workers, including László.

This is when I would argue the film begins to take its descent into being a bit all over the place. 

We then jump ahead a few years to find that Laszlo, Erszebet, and Zsofia are now living in NY where he works for a design firm, Erszebet found a gig with a women's magazine, and Zsofia, now overcoming being mute, has married and is looking to move to Jerusalem with him.

Harrison's lawyer comes to NY in search of Laszlo and lets him know that Harrison intends to forego the library as part of the center to cover the legal fees, which means that the project is back on. Erszebet is understandably frustrated with this development, but lets Laszlo go back to Doylestown. 

I am going to end the basic synopsis for Part 2 here, because I am going to get more into SPOILER TERRITORY here while discussing the rest. I will put an "end spoilers" statement once I am done with this section. 

There is a major shift in the plot that occurs when Harrison rapes Laszlo while they are on a trip to Italy to retrieve marble from a quarry. It is clearly meant to be a plot twist, but it also feels out of nowhere and I would argue that it seems to be there for shock value and doesn't add anything to the plot. In fact, something like this should have drastic ramifications and yet I feel the film glosses over all of them. We are even deprived the pay off of Laszlo confiding in Erszebet of the assault just so we can get a bit of a shock reveal that she is willing to confront Harrison about the rape in front of his family and dinner party guests. 

Once Erszebet leaves, we realize that Harrison disappeared and a search is on to find him. While left a bit ambiguous, it is implied that he may have committed suicide. 

It is with that scene that the film then cuts to its epilogue set in 1980. Laszlo is confined to a wheelchair and we learn that Erszebet had recently passed away. 

He is being honored at an event in Venice for his buildings. We learn that the community center was finally completed a decade after the events of part 2, and his work was heavily inspired by his experiences during the Holocaust. An adult Zsofia gives the speech and ends it with a line he once said to her: "No matter what others try and sell you, it is the destination, not the journey". 

In many ways, this quote feels very much in line with how I am responding to the film. The overall destination is rapturous and sweeping and it is hard to bash the film in many ways...and yet...I highly struggle with what Corbet/Fastvold did with Part 2. 

I did make a point earlier to call out how I wanted The Brutalist to be longer. I don't want to say that Corbet/Fastvold bit off more than they could chew, but the film does suffer a bit from being simultaneously stuffed with plot and neglecting of substance once we return from intermission.

One major aspect of the plot I have not even mentioned yet is that Laszlo becomes a heroin addict, and this is something he shares with his friend Gordon, played by the luminous (and wasted in this role) Issach de Bankole. Like me sidestep for a moment to just state that a lot of the side characters in this film do feel fairly underdeveloped and how it does seem a bit harsh to have the film's only main character of color to be the one who shares Laszlo's heroin addiction. 

The heroin addiction never really seems to be leading to anything until Laszlo decides to inject Erszebet with it when she runs out of her pain medication. Perhaps even more crazy is that despite being such a studious user of it, he gives her too much to the point that she nearly dies. 

And before we know it, she recovers and the film doesn't speak of it again. 

Storylines involving assault and drug addiction could lead to truly compelling and dramatic material, but it is almost as if Corbet/Fastvold wanted to fit all they could in the final hour to make it is crazy as possible. It makes the weight of such truly heinous acts as rape or the tragedy of nearly dying of an overdose feel a lot less heavy. 

END OF SPOILERS

Dare I ask: what is The Brutalist trying to tell us? If we were to be completely surface level, it is a take on the American Dream and the struggle that it takes to try to achieve your goals. The final line talking about destinations and journeys ties into this, but I also feel like this journey was likely a lot more easygoing than similar people that may have the trajectory of someone like Laszlo. 

The ending tries to tug at a sentimental string within us, but I am not so sure it lands as well as Corbet intended. It still feels like a lot of the emotions needed for it to land were sacrificed to go for the drastic plot shifts and dramatic tension that came with them. 

When it comes to the performances of our leads, I can't deny that the buzz and acclaim that Adrien Brody is receiving is richly deserved. I would agree that this may be the finest performance of his career and he may very well win a second Lead Oscar for it. Within his first minutes onscreen, he has a sobbing fit that is exquisitely done. After that scene, he totally had me compelled the entire time.

This is Felicity Jones' best work. Despite my qualms with Part 2, she comes in and dominates nearly as much as Brody does. She has such a strong presence and despite her being frail due to her condition, that strength shines through and you can't help but admire her conviction. The one-take scene in which she confronts Harrison over his actions towards Laszlo in the waning moments of Part 2 is magnificent and I would support any push for her to get the Supporting Actress win. She does face stiff competition from Zoe Saldana and Ariana Grande, who both have an advantage for basically being co-leads of their films. 

Guy Pearce is an interesting case for me.

I have always considered him a great actor and loved him in some of my favorite films from the early days of my film discovery: L.A. Confidential and Memento. He has to play a wealthy, pompous businessman at a time when the public attitude given to these figures were grandiose and presentational. I did find myself struggling with some of his choices (or likely the direction that Corbet took hm in), but I did warm up to him when I began to think of his performative style as being era appropriate, especially when looking at similar real-life figures from that era or in films that tapped into that kind of aesthetic, like many of the male figures in Douglas Sirk films. 

As a film script, I do admire the ambition of Brady Corbet and his partner (work & in life) Mona Fastvold. I just stress that they would've greatly benefitted from trying to focus on maybe one or two of the storyline threads throughout Part 2 rather than trying to fit in all of the shock value/salaciousness they hoped to achieve. *SPOILER* It also felt kind of unsettling for me in that it gave these truly horrendous acts of rape and drug use a quick pass over and didn't allow us time to truly sit with it or cope with it. *END SPOILER*

As a director, however, it is clear that Brady Corbet has what it takes to make a masterful film. What he accomplished with just a $10 million budget has been yet another talking point that has the industry buzzing, and I will gladly state that pretty much every directorial choice he made had me enthralled...and that his own script was what became the disservice. 

The film's cinematography, by Lol Crawley, is nothing short of stunning. I think this is a clear Oscar winner unless they want to opt for Dune: Part Two. A lot of the driving/traveling shots, particularly the one used for the opening credits, seems so simple and yet very unique at the same time. It pulled me in combined, especially combined with the film's score.

Speaking of the score, by Daniel Blumberg, it was getting a lot of high praise from a lot of reviewers I had read. What I heard of it prior to seeing the film didn't truly stick out to me, I must admit. This is a clear example of how much a film score can truly add something to a film, because hearing this score within the confines of the film made me realize how truly epic it actually is. I now find myself thinking about a lot of it. 

With that, I am going to wrap this review up...and I am left feeling enthralled and befuddled. 

If I were to take just Part 1 and rank it for what it accomplished, it would be a much higher rating for Part 2...and yet, I still feel almost sad to give the whole film a lower rating for that reason. 

I acknowledge when the film works, because its overall presentation is nothing short of stunning. It just suffers too much from the script, and I think that is where the problem truly lies...and it is hard to look past that when it comes to Part 2.

I am going to break down my final rating as follows:

The Brutalist

Part 1: The Enigma of Arrival

Rating 9.5/10

--

Part 2: The Hard Core of Beauty

Rating: 6/10

--

Overall Rating for The Brutalist: 7.5/10

____________________________________________

A QUICK POSTMORTEM:

The overall film experience is worth your time, and if any of you reading this haven't seen the film actually do feel compelled to see it, I highly recommend going to check it out.

If anything, I would love to hear from you. I think that the Part 2 discourse could be come fodder among film buffs and critics in the years to come, so that is something I would love to hear your take on.

SOMETHING WICKED EPIC THIS WAY COMES: My Quick Review of Jon M. Chu's WICKED

 I used to be one of the annoying Theatre Kids that are often made fun of as being a bit melodramatic and a bit full of themselves. Maybe I was a bit subdued but the signs of that were there.

I think what made me stand out compared to some is that I had more of a true pretentious vibe...which anybody who has known me for years or has read this blog knows I tend to be someone who flaunts films and other entertainment projects that are indie or foreign or simply a bit niche. 

I had just turned 15 when Wicked opened on Broadway in 2003...and eventually, I would see it a couple of years later with Eden Espinosa and Megan Hilty in the leading roles. My response to the musical at the time surprised me because I had actually LIKED it...although it was a tempered admiration. 

I would listen to the cast recording but for every song I really loved, there were other songs that left me feeling underwhelmed. Honestly, it is pretty on brand for a Stephen Schwartz score in that regard. 

As a whole show, I ended up not remembering specific plot details in the nearly 20 years since I had seen it done live, but what I did know is that as a piece of entertainment, it offered juicy roles for two women in that one gets to frequently belt her ass off while the other arguably gets an amazing character arc that is rather effective.

When I heard that Wicked was going to be split into two parts as a film, I was very skeptical of this. The actual Broadway production runs roughly 2 hours and 45 minutes including a 15-minute intermission.

Then it was announced that part one all by itself would be 2 hours and 40 minutes long. 

I was simply gob smacked by that. WHY drag it out more than it needs to be?! Is it even necessary?!

Once the reviews started coming out, the response seemed practically bursting with joy at what was achieved onscreen...and even more surprisingly, the running time was deemed perfectly justified and the effort made by Chu and his team was seen as a resounding success.

The film wasn't without its detractors, just like any piece of entertainment, but the vitriol thrown at those who didn't respond to the movie with anything less than swift praise became rather amusing to me. However, I did have to wonder...will the snob in me persist? Will I end up leaving the theatre wondering why this is being called by some of one of the greatest movie musicals ever made?

I ended up leaving the theatre with this statement in my head: 

Wicked is one of the greatest movie musicals ever made.

I am not saying it is perfect or even necessarily a masterpiece, but what John M. Chu achieved here is nothing short of a stunning effort. This was a movie that was clearly created with a lot of love and passion for the material and for the entire lore that is held for Oz as an artistic property. 

The long running time wasn't even that felt by me. In fact, it honestly helped strengthen a lot of the story beats and gave them time to breathe...particularly seeing the growth of Elphaba and Glinda's relationship. 

However...this is a movie that truly gives us a sweeping definitive take on the Land of Oz. From the very first moments when the "good news" that Elphaba is dead is spread throughout Oz and we hear the epic opening notes of "No One Mourns the Wicked", you are truly thrust into this world with absolute force.

In fact, the whole opening, complete with a stark relation to British Folk Horror films (you will know it when you see it), is marvelously done...but frankly a lot of the film can be described as that. It is simply in many ways the greatest film of this material we could possibly get. 

As our two leads, Cynthia Ervio and Ariana Grande do not disappoint. These two are on the top of their game and they manage to make an absolute meal out of these two roles which have been so indelibly linked to Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth. The rest of the ensemble is up to task, but I did especially love Bowen Yang and Bronwyn James as Pfannee and Shenshen, the two catty friends of Glinda who would give the girls from The Plastics a run for their money. 

But I think for me in the grand scheme, I kept focusing a lot on how the film was treating the material with its extended run time. I do think this practice, along with utilizing CGI in creating a realistic depiction of Peter Dinklage as Dr. Dillamond, helped give more weight to the Animal Rights aspect of the story which doesn't hit as strongly onstage seeing a man in prosthetics play the role and have it come across as awkward and mildly funny whereas it does pack more of a punch in the film. 

This is going to be a very short review, if I am being honest...but I did just want to express SOMETHING about the film. Beyond everything I said above, I will leave you with this.

"Defying Gravity" has become known as one of the all-time legendary act-one closers in musical theatre...and while it is certainly effective onstage, there are only so many things you can achieve while staging blocking at the Gershwin Theater. 

Film does allow for so much in terms of spectacle and while that may not always be what is needed to make a film work, I think a film like Wicked benefits from this...and the final moments with "Defying Gravity" were absolutely glorious.

I think I had chills for pretty much that entire sequence and even began to get misty eyed because I was so overwhelmed by how epically this song was being presented. Somehow, they managed to exceed my expectations and then some with a lot of the film...but then that ending came and I seriously thought it was one of the most thrilling things I had ever seen onscreen. 

With film, the possibilities are...say it with me...unlimited. 

Jon M. Chu and his creative team definitely got that memo.

WICKED RATING: 9/10 

I SING THE BODY HORROR: My Review of Coralie Fargeat's THE SUBSTANCE

*SPOILERS AND KEY PLOT POINTS WILL BE DISCUSSED*

There are times I sit down to write a review, and my thoughts are pretty easy to pin down. I would argue my recent review of SATURDAY NIGHT is a prime example of this. 

This is NOT one of those times.

I feel like The Substance just appeared out of nowhere earlier this year when it made quite the splash at the Cannes Film Festival where it netted a win for its writer/director Coralie Fargeat in the Screenplay competition.

When it made its eventual US premiere back in September, the response was simultaneously rapturous and revolting...which is about what one might expect for a body horror film. However, what made a lot of this buzz very interesting to follow was that it seemed to be the next entry in the "Can This Horror Film Get Nominated for Awards?" discussion that has seemed to happen every year since Toni Collette got unfairly shafted for her work in Ari Aster's brutal horror drama Hereditary during the 2019 award season.

While it is still early...at least in case from what I have seen so far...2024 is shaping up to be a rather meager year for film, and this isn't a surprise. I sort of feel like I expected a dip after the 2023 Writers Strike, but it also just feels especially jarring considering 2023 shaped up to be one of my favorite years for film of this century so far. 

While this question will age poorly depending on the outcome, one has to wonder: can The Substance actually break into the awards race in several major categories?

There seems to be a pretty obvious divide with this opinion with some thinking it'll actually slip into the Picture, Actress, Screenplay races along with a couple of tech categories while some think it'll be lucky to just get the Makeup/Hairstyling nomination.

If I were to make the prediction now, I think that it will actually score a couple of those major nominations based on enough of the passion the film has...but it'll be interesting to see how it pans out considering very, very, very, very few horror films get nominated for Best Picture...let alone one that is a rather graphic body horror film. 

Does that mean I love the film personally?

Honestly, I wouldn't say I loved it...but I am not sure if it is an easy movie to love. Although, I love the idea of it being embraced with nominations because this is a movie that took big, bold chances addressing issues that are clearly a huge problem for women not just in Hollywood, but in general...and I would argue that despite some quibbles, Fargeat created a truly vibrant, shocking, graphic experience here.

This is a film that lacks subtlety, and at times, that did pull me out of it in ways I wish it didn't...and while this may seem like a drastic comparison, it sort of reminded me of Don't Look Up.

Before some of you get very angry at that comment, I will say The Substance was certainly better than Don't Look Up, which I did like to some degree, but that was a film that opted for pushing its message forward with the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the face. Comedically though, it worked well a lot of the time in that film, and it made the final act all the more poignant. It also served to respond to how little people seemed to respond to the insanity of what was happening around them...and in that film's case, it was the clear end of the world that was upon them and the clear Trump team parallels that led the charge with their obtuseness.

Here, Fargeat takes the idea of a woman being pushed to the brink because she is being told she is too old and dated in style and presents in ways that are at times cartoonish and campy, but also horrific and tragic.

The protagonist is Elisabeth Sparkle, played by Demi Moore, who is a fading Hollywood movie star who...strangely...hosts a primetime fitness show because THAT would actually happen. She is fired by her producer Harvey (Dennis Quaid) over a lunch where he sloppily eats shrimp and has the inner depth of a sidewalk puddle. Being named Harvey is another clear blunt example of Fargeat going for the obvious, but hey...a shallow character may as well be treated with no real care. 

When Elisabeth leaves to go home, she notices a billboard of hers being promptly torn down and her distraction leads to a pretty brutal car accident. Miraculously, she seems to have survived it fairly unscathed but is clearly distraught. The young nurse in the room waits for the doctor to leave and he proceeds to check her spine. After cryptically telling her she would be a perfect candidate, he slips her a flash drive advertising a black-market serum called "The Substance", which promises a "younger, more beautiful, more perfect" version of oneself. 

This product has clear warnings/guidelines to follow, just as if one were caring for a Mogwai. Once you create the younger version of yourself, you must live your existence as both because in the end, you are one and the same. You will live one week as younger you and the next week as the original you, rinse and repeat. NO EXCEPTIONS! If you hold out longer than the allotted time, there will be consequences. You can also only create one "perfect" you, so the serum cannot be used again following the first input. 

Elisabeth injects the serum, collapses to the floor with convulsions, and essentially births her perfect younger self from a slit formed right at her spine. And thus, we get Sue, played by Margaret Qualley.

Her first assignment is to answer the casting call that from the paper that announced that the search for the new Elisabeth Sparkle is underway...with the caveat that she must be within the age range of 18-30.

As we expect, she singlehandedly impresses Harvey and his gaggle of sleazy cads to land the gig, proving that she was always the right one for the job, but now seemingly has the youth to seem worthy of the gig.

As expected though, the inner demons of Elisabeth cause her to battle herself but the message from the guy from "The Substance" is clear: this is all her own doing. Sue is Elisabeth/Elisabeth is Sue. And that is when the film begins to progress down its more abstract and darker path.

As a queer man, I do hear a lot about and have even felt a certain uneasiness with growing older...but at the same time, I also find myself wholly embracing it. This is why as a man, especially a cis white man, I know that I have no authority to speak on this experience because I can clearly see from the outside that what women are put through in pretty much every aspect, Hollywood or not, is atrocious.

We are a watching a woman being so desperate to hold onto everything she knows and her youth that she goes deep into an old warehouse to retrieve a serum that she truly knows nothing about and then injects it inside of her. 

This is where I think Demi Moore excels because she truly makes us believe this journey, even if it is clearly heightened to an almost cartoonish satirical level. 

Moore has never been nominated for an Oscar, and has only ever had a couple of nominations from organizations like the Golden Globes, but I would say she could very well find herself making the list this year. Considering the fine lines she has to stomp down, I love how much she embraced this role with complete abandon. In many ways, you could argue how this role progresses leads her into the "hagsplotation" area that was created by Bette Davis in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

Moore is tragic, angry, passionate, fiery, hilarious, and horrific...and I hope that she will get the attention she deserves. Also - she looks absolutely fantastic and it only further proves how asinine the treatment of women is in the Hollywood system.

Then we have Margaret Qualley and much like Moore, she has charisma that simply sparks off the screen and, I have to admit, she looks totally hot in this role. Fargeat clearly filmed a lot of Qualley's scenes as if it were she exploiting her in a "male gaze" manner and it is absolutely affective. You could even argue that her Sue is the film's "villain" but that is where the whole idea of this narrative is fascinating because she is still Elisabeth in the end.

I do think the film does drag a bit and could've used an edit, especially during the final 45 minutes or so, but within that final act, the film pretty much goes HARD.  The practical effects used on Moore and Qualley are magnificent. I can't speak for the upcoming Nosferatu as I have not seen it and the early reviews say the makeup is exceptional in it...but if there is any justice, The Substance will win that category. 

I have battled with a lot of inner thoughts about this film, not certain if I loved it or found it to be too abrasive in the wrong ways. I won't say that I loved it necessarily or say that it is a masterpiece, but I do highly admire what Fargeat achieved here. 

It is gross, it is unnerving, it is campy, it is tragic...and it is also highly vibrant and stylish, and even reminiscent over classic horror films...particularly The Shining and a lot of the Kubrick style cinematography/aesthetics. 

Maybe I would've appreciated a little more digging into the characters, but alas, I think Fargeat deserves to be commended here and I am definitely curious to see what she comes up with next.

THE SUBSTANCE

RATING: 7.5/10